Education: Five Figures!

College costs head past $10,000

It was bound to be, of course. But the news sent a chill to the hearts and pocketbooks of hard-pressed parents all over the country. Stanford University has announced that, come fall, the cost of tuition, fees, room and board for a single year will rise 13.3%, from $8,921 to $10,105. It is a safe—if painful—bet that tuition, room and board will crash the five-figure barrier at a handful of other schools, since Stanford typically charges less than Harvard, Yale and M.I.T. At Harvard, Associate Dean for Finances Melissa D. Gerrity forecasts an increase of 11% to 15% above the present $9,170, and a total that could go as high as $10,546. Matters are bound to get much, much worse. A new study on Williams College projects that by 1990, tuition, room and board will total a budget-busting $16,890 a year.